Ufm: Brussels, EU co-presidency to fuel dialogue

In view of new meetings on trade, energy and transport

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MAY 15 - With the EU holding the role
of Mediterranean Union co-president of the North, Brussels is
expecting ''new momentum'' in the dialogue taking place between
the 43 countries involved by 2013. This was the message that
emerged from the European Commission's statement on the road map
of the EU's new neighbourhood policy.
According to Brussels, by next year several meetings will be
organised at the ministerial level in the fields of trade,
transport, energy and industry. Likewise, meetings between
high-level officials will aim to provide the UFM secretariat in
Barcelona with ''efficient guidance for projects''. What has
been achieved until now? The UFM has adopted 8 projects for
which they are currently seeking financing regarding a
desalinisation plant in Gaza and the completion of the Maghreb
motorway.
The purpose of the EU's work in the coming months will be to
make the Mediterranean Union ''an effective tool to promote
political dialogue as well as cooperation within industries in
the region''. Another objective will be to promote greater
collaboration between south shore countries, and in North Africa
in particular, and to develop dialogue between the EU and other
associations in the region, the Arab League in particular.